With the war in Kachin State showing no signs of slowing and state-sponsored violence in Arakan hitting a new crescendo this past week, it’s perhaps unsurprising that reporting on the state of Burma’s other conflicts has been largely relegated to the back burner as of late. This is understandable, perhaps, as the state of affairs in other conflict zones – Karen State being one – are not nearly as acutely violent as they are in the areas that have received the most attention lately. But the underlying dynamics of violent conflict in Karen State remain largely unchanged, which may cause a relapse if they are not meaningfully addressed.

The war between the Burmese government and the Karen people, the longest of Burma’s myriad internal conflicts, has at least superficially become less intractable since the KNU executive and the Tatmadaw Burmese government signed a ceasefire on January 12th of this year. The ceasefire has proven tenuous at best, and has been violated by government forces on numerous occasions. The existence of a ceasefire agreement between KNU-affiliated forces and the government has not meant an end to human rights violations in the conflict zone, as commercial development and resource exploitation – key government goals in Karen State – have historically been, and continue to be, associated with widespread abuses. The pervasive militarization that has come to define the civilian experience across vast swathes of Karen State has not diminished and has, paradoxically, actually increased since the ceasefire was signed. Although attacks against civilians by the military and its allied paramilitary forces have decreased since the ceasefire, the military’s desire to assert control to secure commercial interests and increased fractionalisation within the KNU establishment itself may conspire to undo whatever limited progress has been made.

Aside from occasionally severe flare-ups of violence, as last occurred in 2010 around the time of nationwide elections, clashes in Karen State have historically been low-intensity and sporadic. The Tatmadaw (Burmese army) intentionally targets civilians in Karen State as part of its “four cuts” counterinsurgency doctrine, in order to both acquire supplies for itself as well as deny insurgents civilian support. Dating back to the Ne Win era, the “four cuts” refer to the food, funds, recruits and intelligence that the military seeks to deny insurgents access to; since 1997, the Tatmadaw has intentionally limited the amount of supplies it sends to front-line troops in order to encourage them to attack civilians, which has the twin effects of reducing their operational costs and, in Karen State, limits the ability of civilians to provide the KNLA (the KNU’s armed wing) with resources.

Faced as they have been with such predation, civilians – and the non-state armed groups that are entrusted with their security – have developed both armed and unarmed strategies to defend themselves. While these strategies have undoubtedly left civilians better off than they would be with no way to protect themselves from government attacks, armed civilian protection has invariably contributed to the increasing militarisation of Karen State seen since the fall of the KNU’s headquarters at Manerplaw in 1995. The continued use of antipersonnel landmines (APMs) in Karen State by both sides is especially concerning. In 2010, Burma ranked fifth highest in the world for landmine casualties, and was the only state in the world in which APMs were laid by both government and non-state armed forces in 2011.

Given the predatory nature of the Tatmadaw’s strategies in Karen State, and the lack of effective deterrent tools at their disposal, the KNU – and civilians themselves in the conflict zone – have come to view landmines as essential tools for protecting themselves from Tatmadaw attacks, the profound risks associated with their use notwithstanding. The KNLA and its affiliated paramilitary organisations routinely establish defensive minefields to deter Tatmadaw attacks, and in this way have used mines to increase civilians’ freedom of mobility by creating no-go zones for government troops. In cases where the KNLA is unable to lay landmines themselves, they have trained civilians in construction and placement techniques so that they can establish these defences themselves.

APMs, being cheap and effective defensive weapons, are thus widely seen in Karen State by the KNLA and civilians alike as being necessary for security in the context of predation by the Tatmadaw and its allies. While landmines are rightly perceived to pose an indiscriminate threat, calling for the KNLA and its affiliates to stop using landmines altogether absent a concerted demilitarisation effort by both sides is unrealistic, and potentially harmful for civilian security. The underlying agent of civilian insecurity in Karen State is not landmine use – it is the decades of ill-will and mistrust between the KNU and non-state armed actors aligned with them on one side and the government and its para-statal armed allies on the other.

The current no-holds-barred Tatmadaw assault on the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the north should serve as a warning of the risks ethnic insurgents face when entering into a ceasefire agreement with Naypyidaw. By focusing exclusively on ending fighting in the short-term – as was the principal goal of the 1994 ceasefire signed between the KIA and the Burmese government – and neglecting issues of ethnic grievance, revenue-sharing, and regional autonomy, the Kachin ceasefire gave both sides the opportunity to stockpile munitions and supplies in anticipation of the day when the relative calm would give way to another round of combat. If both sides in Karen State continue to bolster their defenses and do not engage in meaningful dialogue, the ceasefire there may start to take on characteristics of the Kachin conflict.

But the culpability for the current environment of insecurity in Karen State cannot be distributed equally between the two sides. If there is one primary agent of insecurity in Karen State, it is the Tatmadaw. It is plain that the government has designs over Karen State that make the prospect of cooperation with the KNU unlikely, and the Tatmadaw’s recent penchant for attacking ceasefire groups – starting with the Kokang incident in August 2009 and continuing with the revival of the Kachin war in June of last year – has rightfully unsettled many within the KNU establishment. That the KNU and its allies have agreed to a ceasefire with the government at all is a substantial development, as the organisation has been staunchly protective of its autonomy and highly mistrusting of the government’s motives for its entire history.

While conducting thesis research on both sides of the Thai-Burma border in December and early January, I encountered almost universal scepticism with regards to the expected ceasefire, which was signed a few days after I left the region. My KNU-affiliated sources felt that it was a question of when, not if, fighting would resume. At the time, there was a widespread perception on the ground that the Tatmadaw would take advantage of the relative quiet to reinforce their positions, to give them the upper hand over the KNU in securing control over territory when hostilities resumed. While the ceasefire remains officially in place, reports suggest that the Tatmadaw is, indeed, using the lull to bolster its defences, with the goal of displacing the KNU from its traditional strongholds and paving the way for the kind of large-scale commercial exploitation that it has sought for years.

As with its designs over Kachin State, Naypyidaw intends to bring Karen State firmly under heel, in order to exploit its vast mineral, hydropower, and forest resources. The Karen hills also lie in the middle of the shortest overland route between Yangon and Bangkok, and the stretch of coastline immediately adjacent to them could potentially offer convenient access to the Indian Ocean for the manufacturing and agricultural heartland of Central Thailand. Its strategic geography and natural endowments make it attractive to politicians and business leaders on both sides of the border, especially as Burma’s economy opens up to the outside world to a much greater degree than before. But the KNU is still perceived as an annoyance to the government and big capital, and is seen in Naypyidaw as threatening the official development/exploitation agenda.

A case in point is a deep-sea port currently under construction at Dawei, in Tenasserim Division, which is perhaps the most ambitious and expensive project currently underway in or around Karen State. Financed largely by Thai interests, the area surrounding the construction site is partially controlled by troops from KNLA Brigade 4. So long as negotiations only focus on ending hostilities and do not address the prospect of real political and economic power sharing, it is highly possible that the Tatmadaw will choose to break the ceasefire in an attempt to annihilate the KNU militarily, as it has done with the KIA in Kachin State. For this reason, it is difficult to gauge just how deep and durable the ceasefire in Karen State truly is, and the likelihood that the government will unilaterally break it remains high.

The ceasefire has also acted as a wedge within the KNU establishment, and, for a time, split the KNU into pro- and anti-ceasefire factions along regional lines. Although the KNU has been fraught with internecine conflict for decades, the post-ceasefire period has ushered in a period of particular disunity. Many within the KNU are justifiably wary of the government’s intentions, and see any sort of thaw as potentially rendering the Karen vulnerable to the kind of devastation wrought in Kachin State. Although the KNU has thus far managed to present a moderately united front in its dealings with Naypyidaw, the organisation is starting to make a concerted effort to deal with its own problems with institutional cohesion and party discipline. At an emergency meeting held between October 25-26, the KNU central committee reinstated two recently dismissed executive members and sought to mend the rift between pro- and anti-ceasefire factions. A third round of peace talks with the government in early September focused on establishing a “code of conduct” for both sides to follow, which – if properly formulated and actually adhered to – might help avoid a violent relapse. How successful the KNU will be in either endeavour, however, remains to be seen, as current political climate precludes discussion of truly legitimating the KNU as a political entity or giving it a real stake in the development agenda.

While fighting itself has slowed considerably, Karen State remains as militarised as it was before the ceasefire was signed. Both sides continue to deploy antipersonnel mines to secure their positions in preparation for war breaking out once again, and an unwillingness to unilaterally demobilise or demine has prevented either side from taking the first step to ease militarisation. But as the primary agent of displacement and violence in Karen State, it is the government that needs to take the first step, as doing so would send a strong signal to the KNU that it is legitimately interested in partnership and conciliation. Whether or not the government is actually interested in meaningful dialogue with the KNU is, however, a matter for debate, and given their recent treatment of other armed ethnic ceasefire groups, I find it highly unlikely that they are.

Because the government’s actions have not demonstrated that is interested in real peacebuilding in Karen State, the notion that now is a good time for Karen refugees to be repatriated – as has been discussed recently – is a highly premature one. The Thai government is keen to repatriate the 140,000 plus Burmese refugees resident in Thailand, and is happy to use the excuse provided by Naypyidaw’s political and economic reforms to make a case for this to occur. But conditions on the other side of the border are in no way conducive to civilian safety and security. Some 1.5 million people remain internally displaced, and although fighting has essentially ended for the time being in Karen State, pervasive insecurity from landmines, forced labour and extortion remains the reality for many. Indeed, an influx of returnees might in fact prompt the KNLA and its allies to plant even more landmines, as more communities and individuals would be in need of protection from government attacks.

While the current stalemate in Karen State is better than what preceded it, and a pause in fighting can only be good for civilian populations for the time being, the lack of true demilitarization and demobilization, combined with both sides stockpiling for a conflict that may or may not come is highly disconcerting. The prospect of war breaking out in Karen State at any minute is real; given the government’s treatment of other ceasefire groups in recent years, it would likely be more intense and devastating than it has at any time in the 60+ year history of the Karen conflict. For true progress to be made, the KNU needs to be given real political power and a stake in the development agenda that the government is pushing for Karen State. Likewise, the government needs to take the first steps to demilitarise Karen State, through unilaterally demobilizing troops and conducting demining operations of its own accord. Doing so would indicate to the KNU and displaced civilians alike that it is serious about good-faith dialogue and equitable development, and is not the conquering occupier it is generally perceived to be on the ground. But despite the fact that an official dialogue with the KNU is still ongoing, there is no real evidence to suggest that the government has any interest in working with them to bring about a lasting, durable solution to the conflict, a fact which bodes poorly for the future of the ceasefire and long-term prospects for peace. Although the global spotlight is as focused as it ever will be on conflicts elsewhere in Burma, it may shine uncomfortably on Karen State in the near future if the government does not make a concerted effort to deal with underlying structural problems preventing peace from taking hold in Karen State — and effort which it, unfortunately, seems unwilling to make at this point.

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Is Alex Bookbinder another westerner in the disguise of doing academic research trying to put the wedge between Burmese and Karen brothers again?

The restoring peace and rebuilding civility process is progressing so well between Karens and Burmese, they even had a friendly soccer match between the team of movie actors and the combined-team of Burmese Army LID-44 and KNLA First Brigade held in the Bee Lin town of Mon State on October 31 of this year.

Alex Bookbinder should watch the video of soccer match at following link.

“State-sponsored violence in Arakan”? It is not reasonable to label as “state sponsorship” the Government’s wise policy of not being too hard on Myanmar’s majority religion, in what is clearly a religious conflict. I commend the writer for getting such obvious nonsense into the first couple of lines. It saves people the trouble of reading the rest.

A soccer match is the probe of a genuine process of peace? Poor naive people! Alex Bookbinder analysis is (unfortunately) right. Only business oriented people can be happy about what is going on in Karen areas. And the burmese occupation authorities are even using these propaganda games to cheat some Karen. Thanks God there are still men trying to stand up in order to reach the goal of Karen struggle, that is not to become shareholders in financial and economical exploitation of Kawthoolei. Good article Mr. Bookbinder!

The combined team playing against the team of movie actors were the 50:50 mixture of the Burmese soldiers from the LID 44 of Burma Army and the Karen soldiers of KNLA First Brigade.

As shown clearly in the video at the You Tube link below they had been brutally killing each other just recently. The fact that they are now dropping their guns and able to play in a same team (not opposing teams) means a lot to both Burmese and Karen people.

When the burmese occupation authorities will start to withdraw some of their troops from Karen State we will maybe start to be interested in watching football matches. Before this, sorry, nothing to be happy for…

This is just another piece that makes the westerners sound like experts of Myanmar which is directly contradictory to the reality. And while the ceasing fire is yet to be achieved between government army and KIA, this is just another dishonest article that intends to make the people outside Myanmar feel Myanmar is full of crap.

Whether Alex Bookbinder like it or not his longing for the yesteryear portrayal of good Kayin being relentlessly persecuted by the evil Bamar, a fraud by itself, is fast coming to an end with the advent of SG Than Shwe own, Road Map To Discipline Democracy.

Under this politics of RMTDD, even a repetition of previously most heinous unacceptable 4 cut strategy, MIGHT be viewed differently. No doubt in favor of present administration that is touting unity, trades and development the hallmark of RMTDD.

Alex Bookbinder fixation on APMs need to transcend now to economic opportunities,that were only available to the military and their cronies are now available to ALL to be taken advantage of. A fact that the WA has learnt long ago, a dynamic changing factor,instead of bemoaning the end of the useless careless policy that sustained the conflicts in the first place.

The era of sanction dictated responses is at end. If Alex Bookbinder is astute enough to realize this new dynamic he might yet be able to help the Kayin, a majority, by the way are in the delta area still toiling to escape from the effects of Nargis.

Aung Moe, thanks for sharing the video. While friendly face time between the two sides is obviously very positive, I’m tempted to agree that one friendly soccer match doth not a durable peace make.

I only touched on this slightly, but it’s also important to remember that different brigade commanders within the KNU are/were more open to the ceasefire than others. What might be a true positive development in Brigade 1 isn’t necessarily going to hold throughout all Karen regions. And I’d argue that given the commercial interests at stake, friendly soccer matches are the exception, not the rule. The Tatmadaw is stockpiling and fortifying, not demobilising. How can this just be explained away? Unless the KNU complies to the letter with the government’s exploitative agenda for Karen State (which it won’t, and shouldn’t, unless real evidence of cooperation and good faith are evident) I fail to see how lasting peace is a sure thing.

Plan B mentioned the fact that the government has left the Wa alone thus far as evidence that they’re not likely to attack the Karen. But there are big differences. First off, the UWSA controls little in the way of resources prized by Naypyidaw, unlike the KIA, so dealing with them is lower down the priority totem pole. Second of all, there are crony links between the UWSA and Naypyidaw which simply isn’t the case with the KNU or KIA (the UWSA’s ownership of Yangon Airways is the most obvious example). Plus, the sheer strength of the UWSA’s military machine makes it the one non-state armed group in Burma that might have a real chance at inflicting serious battlefield losses on the Tatmadaw if push were to come to shove.

I intentionally oversimplified and lumped together the armed groups operating in and around Karen State because they can, by and large, be grouped into two overarching categories (KNU and their allies, such as DKBA Brigade 5, and the Tatmadaw with the BGF and the KNU/KNLA Peace Council. Even that’s way oversimplified). This is a short piece and if you want detailed information on what groups are aligned with whom in Karen State, it’s out there.

I’m always astounded by people who seem to think that so-called “western academics” are part of some nefarious neocolonial plot to destabilise Burma. Why attack me personally? If I’m wrong, tell me how.

“…an increase in business, development, natural resource extraction, accompanied by a continued military presence. KHRG believes that the perpetration of abuses is exacerbated, and villagers’ options to respond effectively limited, both by the lack of opportunities for genuine local input and a dearth of information-sharing concerning new developments.”

If you seriously want to know, there is the answer by Stephen.

The Karen area is no different in the “change” from the other areas of the country including western Arakan and Latpadaung except the degree of sufferings and displacement are millions times worse in Karen.

The perpetrators are the Bamar Sit-tut. Always have been, always will be. That Bamar Sit-tut is now feted and praised and sucked up by the international communities ( as Gillard did just this week) who until just a short while ago for twenty years had been treating the Sit-tut with utmost contempt it deserved and still does.

By simple act of putting on a Gaung-paung and being vouched for by Aung San Suu Kyi who is simple product of carefully cultivated image styling just like in Mandela before her, every thing the Sit-tut does is good, wonderful and admirable now, all of a sudden.

Even the most horrid killing and displacing of the Rohingya or whatever they are called is not condemned by any one.

In this buoyant state of elation, the Sit-tut has no reason to change their ways but plenty reasons to push even harder.

Yes. Cash awash,there are people they can buy out in other armed groups around the country now. The armed groups are not there by democracy and are definitely not representative of the people whose fate the armed gangs (Sit-tut and themselves) are going to decide. Yet they now are approved and applauded by the international communities who WILL benefit from those deals.

Norwegians with their baby face are there just to make sure things are done in right order. Their deeds in Sri Lanka have been surely for no human to be proud of and are still going on.

Kachins had been razing the forests and digging up the gems and jade and flogging to the Chinese in bargain price. They, them and the Sit-tut, were eating of each other’s hands days before they started to kill each others resulting in thousands and thousands of dead bodies. Sit-tut, far delayed in their Pipe laying enterprise for the Chinese is now trying to annihilate them once for all, in their dreams.

Yes, there WILL be “peace”. Yes, the people with guns, both sides together, will decide where now totally defenceless Karen can live and work and move around or not according to Norwegian map to fit in with the needs of international business and resource requirement.

And yes, there will be time they simply start to kill each other again like in Kachin. Simple matter of time.

Greed and dishonesty simply cannot reign the world forever for mathematical reason. One does run out of suckers.

The trick for the international communities is to reap quick before it happens.

“(More than 5,000 Burmese and Kayin soldiers were killed in the one-week-long battle of Kormoora alone in 1989)”

One little know fact among dozens of similar other that have and will justify any future killings among brothers.

Fascinating, unimaginable barbarous in the age of neat precise drone strike.

Western academics tendency to oversimplify matter can indeed help by encouraging the sure win win SIMPLEST solution of helping the whole citizenry through normal commerce, in a sustain way without anymore divisiveness, and see Myanmar transform in a period much shorter than 3 decades.

Alex Bookbinder no doubt meant well for the Kayin knowing his research is on APMs within Myanmar.

Involvement in a few field amputations of innocent villagers will forever imprint anyone on this senseless brutality from present quagmire.

The problem has evolved over so many decades of justifiable hatred, mistrust and pathos that are fueled by, believe it or not, the West.

Misguided sympathy such as this one motivated by APMs neither provide solution nor hasten towards the bitter end, as seen in how it has always been and always will be through out the History of Myanmar. Thus continuation of this ‘longest civil war’.

WA a minor ethnic group by any measure might be a poor example yet pertinent because essentially labeled as Chinese/Drug lords (without resource!), are astute enough to maintain an ironclad symbiotic relation.

Heavily armed yet vested themselves fully in $$ and politics making them a model that must be copied.

Recognizing the Bamar dominance yet having autonomy in every ways.

Anyone who wish to end this quagmire must remind ALL within Myanmar of the common destiny instead of another misguided sympathetic article that will certainly fuel the continuation of present quagmire.

On this subject, the Karen Human Rights Group released a commentary yesterday, which may be of interest to NM readers:

Steps towards peace: Local participation in the Karen ceasefire process

This commentary considers Karen villagers’ perspectives on impacts of the ceasefire between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Government of the Union of Myanmar. In light of their concerns, this commentary makes workable recommendations about what the most effective next steps could be for negotiating parties and for stakeholders in the ceasefire process. Building on KHRG’s previous analysis in Safeguarding human rights in a post-ceasefire in eastern Burma, published in January 2012, this commentary brings to light new evidence of villagers’ perspectives. Documentation received since the ceasefire reveals some positive changes, but also raises concerns about ongoing human rights abuses in the post-conflict environment, as a result of ingrained abusive practices and a lack of accountability, particularly in areas where there has been an increase in business, development, natural resource extraction, accompanied by a continued military presence. KHRG believes that the perpetration of abuses is exacerbated, and villagers’ options to respond effectively limited, both by the lack of opportunities for genuine local input and a dearth of information-sharing concerning new developments. Analysis for this commentary was prepared based on a collaborative workshop held between all staff members at KHRG’s administrative office, as well as field documentation and oral testimony received since January 2012 from villagers in all KHRG research areas, which incorporate all or parts of Kayin and Mon States, and Bago and Tanintharyi Regions

This illustrate the tip of the iceberg of existing diversity among among Kayin.

From CBOs that protect women and children from exploitation to hospitals and clinics that help everyone, from doctors to social workers and volunteers that are Kayin that toil to give the citizenry hope illustrate a vision of “A Common Destiny” among majority of Kayin that the west ignore lest encourage.

There have been daily attacks by the Tatmadaw against the KNLA, and they’re escalating.
While the KNLA is bending over backwards to adhere to the ceasefire, the tatmadaw has been reinforcing its garrisons,cutting roads through the jungle in order to move up heavy equipment, and conducting reconnaissance in force against KNLA positions.

There does seem to be a portion of the armed groups desperate to sell out their people for a cut from, Tavoy, Moulmine -ports, trade routes, SEZ’s. Etc.

Money and power are hard to resist for mere mortals.

Beside Great Leader Aung San Suu Kyi (moralist apparently)has shown that the principles are nothing. She gets lauded for (and only because of) having NO principles whatsoever. Even called “Smart”. Like Clinton, Suzanne Nossal, Joseph Nye’s “smart power”. Smart people. Just rotten.

They (leaders of the armed groups)will lie to themselves to take various deals. Then like Kachin, one day the hungover starts.

Which country colonize Myanmar, that started this NEVER existed Kayin Bamar animosity?

Did the West,raise any objection at any international forums on unimaginable blood letting, just b/t Kayin and Bamar following Myanmar independence?

Did the West let ‘enigmatic’ Ne Win be Ne Win despite his notorious and unspeakably cruel 4 cuts strategy on Pegu Yoma and other Campaigns that put KNLA Bamar to this quagmire that has endured?

Did the same party that has hegemony over world politic and economic use the influence to implement ‘the useless careless policy’ that maintain if not strengthen the ongoing intransigence for nearly 3 decades?

Yes the West is responsible by volition, to what degree only history will decide.

Will the West knowing the solution to bitter struggle among KNOWN historical brothers, is neither more divisiveness nor misguided sympathy for one side through HR organizations, yet absolutely neglecting to promote “a common Destiny” to eventual reconciliation makes the West guilty by omission as well?

Plan B is right about British Colonialist wedge between Burmese and Karen.

During the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826) the English Political Officers attached to British Invading Army were planning to use Mon locals in the Lower Burma against Burmese from Upper Burma.

But their plan didn’t materialize as Mon the Buddhists were not really willing to go against Burmese Buddhists even though Burmese had conquered the Mons well before the British came.

Fortunately for the British they discovered the Kayins, then the Animists, and used them effectively against Burmese.

Later the American Baptist missionaries such as Judson converted them to Christianity. Once they became Christians British recruited them into British Burma army and the rest is the history of Divide and Rule and never-ending civil war as we now know it.

We can blame it all on the English Colonialists and the American Christian missionaries.

Thanks for the sffirmation. Just a slight addition to Judson, a true exaple of christianity for all Myanmar.

He worked hard sacrificiallly to introduced Christianity to the Kayin as well as others, Higher Education and numerous saintly philantrophy.

Accordinly true to his faith NEVER justifying any killing especially brothers against brothers.

Those Kayin brothers that uphold the true christian faith,continuslly provide vital help to fellow brothers victims of Nargis as well as establishing staffed hospitals and clinics without which this government will be up the creek in providing healthcate are ongoing testaments to his loving effort.

KNLA’s claimed to chritianity at best justify HR groups and similar in the west claiming to be ‘christian’, white washing equally atrocious KNLA as well as the west hypocrisy, and at the worst simply unnecessarily prolong this epic tragedy.

Yes, we can chalk up the borders of the modern Burmese state to colonial machination and consolidation. That is arguably the biggest reason for modern Burma’s ethnic strife, as it was never really united as a consolidated polity as such before the British showed up.

But when does blaming colonialism get old? There’s no doubt that building a nation-state from disparate parts is challenging in the Burmese context, but the fact that it never really happened is a function of ineptitude and pathological leadership.

While this is an imperfect comparison, India – with which Burma shares a direct colonial history – was able to craft a unified polity and national identity based on regional difference and federalism that has managed to be pretty inclusive (albeit not without its problems). Burma started off on this track but got derailed pretty quickly.

The Panglong conference wasn’t particularly successful; perhaps the its most glaring failure was the absence of the Karen, who weren’t willing to trust Aung San’s entreaties towards them. After he and his multiethnic (including Rohingya people!) cabinet were killed (by forces that saw federalism as leading to the end of the modern Burmese state), whatever trust was beginning to emerge between the Karen and the Burman-dominated heartland was undone.

This was compounded by U Nu’s ineptitude (naming Buddhism the state religion was a fantastic way of alienating a good 40% of the population) and Ne Win’s pathological obsession with enforcing a warped sense of national unity at the barrel of a gun.

But the respect shown for Aung San Suu Kyi by ethnic people pretty well across the board (at least, until recently) shows that with the right leadership, a lot of these issues can be sorted out. Burma’s in massive need of a second Panglong conference.

While colonial divide-and-conquer is obviously the source of many of these problems, to blame colonialism entirely while overlooking the massive mismanagement of the past 65-odd years is disingenuous and inaccurate.

Writing about APM does make one sleep better does it however EVER touch the colonists sins on Myanmar?

The British ruled Myanmar, colonially from 1824-1948, at least 70 years. Radically transform “the fundamental fabric Buddhism that has held a Buddhist country” now only make sense with military domination.

Blaming the military government excesses alone since 1961 fly in the face of academic integrity.

The bigger issue must be how to advance the citizenry well being under RMTDD.

Haven’t you ever heard of King Anawyahtar’s First Burmese Empire, Bayinnaung’s Second, and Alaungphayar’s Third Burmese Empire.

You don’t need to go too far. Just visit Thai National Museum in Bangkok. Thailand was colonized by only one country, Burma. We Burmese already had had thousand years old country well before English came.

If you read any book about First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26) written by British army officers, you will find they referred that war as a great war between two empires, Britsh and Burmese. Haven’t you ever heard about famous Burmese general Maha Bandoola.

Your remark that Burma wasn’t a consolidated political entity before British is totally false. That’s the problem with you so-called Westerner experts, badmouthing Burma though you don’t really know Burma that well!

If you think the political order of the old royal Mandalas is in any way comparable to that of modern nation-states, you’re sorely mistaken. The level of consolidation and the perception of borders simply wasn’t as strong as one would expect to find in a modern nation-state in the westphalian mould.

Quality comment or not?11

#14.2.2.1.1

Ohn

Posted November 16, 2012 at 9:15 PM

There in lies the strength as well as the weakness of the feudal Burma.

Yes. The Kingdom was expended far and wide by sheer ruthlessness and cruelty still remembered in places in eastern India or Thailand after centuries. And as is evident clearly here, all Burman Burmese are taught since childhood to be proud of their “Lu Swan Gaung”s prowess. With no encouragement to see the “other” side at all. The very root of present day devastating discrimination and chauvinism again clearly seen all over the country.

No, it was never a westphalian system. In fact any coup or killing of all the royal relatives etc., which, by the way is a built-in feature of feudalism of all societies, even though poor Thibaw’s wife copped the bad name for it, had very little effect in the day to day lives of ordinary people, be they Burman or Shan.

It was more like an “internet”, so many nodes of self sufficient and self contained units everywhere rather than linear, constant top down authoritarianism.

Kings were somewhat revered and loathed (one of the five traditional enemies)rather than loved.

After thousands of years, the same mentality is seen among the populace. That is why it is very important to give the people opportunities to learn the real situation of the world and about the people of the world.

As seen in Candlelight Protests and Lapadaung, Burmese are capable of independent , yet collective and effective, resistance once they understand the true nature of the events.

Current “hero worship” and acting on rumours are simple old habits of recent times they will soon get over.

plan B and Aung Moe. Arrogant, oppressive, pea-brained militarism is alive and thriving in Buddhist cultures in the 21st century with no need for any contribution from colonialism. Just look at Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka.

Thailand has chronic, smouldering and violent Buddhist- Muslim coexistence in the South used by politicians every now and then to score points like Thaksin did. But that pattern is different from the Burmese and Sri Lanka ones.

Sri Lanka has always had violent suppression of Buddhism by other religion with total massacres so that the monks are very close to warring sponsoring Kings and they themselves are normally assertive (very un-Buddhist attitude), an attribute current day Burmese monks admire and covet. Their current Buddhism came back from Burma and Thailand after their one was wiped out. Hence such virulence in LTTE final days and the Sinhalese majority has not blinked an eyelid to this day.

Burma never had any violence in their land for religion in history. But Buddhism was taken with blood from Mon and the the second most sacred Pagoda, Maha Myat Muni was taken forcefully with blood from the Arakanese.

Until Khin Nyunt used religion successfully to split the most formidable and powerful KNU, for the general population the religious discrimination was confined to few extremists. Like the Sangha who pressured U Nu to declare Buddhism as the National religion.

That discrimination is indeed fostered and promoted by the Sit-tut since successfully. And it found fertile ground in mostly ignorant, captive populace with rising tide of chauvinism. Ne Win and Khin Nyunt being Chinese may make them promote Burmese nationalism more intensely and successfully as in Corsican Napolean of Italian decent, Macedonian Radovan Karadzic of Bosnia and Bavarian Hitler.

So what Burma needs now is not harking back to older,older times but to get the populace simply to understand the value of humanity and shameful chauvinism as there now is the opportunity.

It is important for people to understand that wiping out the highly advanced Thaton Civilization by the killing prowess of four “Lu Swan Gaung” was shameful one not to be proud of just like those “Unifying Kings” and their troops laying waste to current eastern states of India and Northern Thailand committing untold misery to the populace.

It is interesting such attitude is seen among the people who are now at liberty to learn and understand the simple value of human decency and fairness.

Rather than a problem of colonialism or religion, the current problem of Burmese chauvinism which is the root of all evils in Burma at the moment is that of ignorance, arrogance and absence of true metta.

Only wider leaning,self soul searching and observation of true Buddhism or similar attributes of any other religions can cure it.

Unfortunately that is in store is to take out loans to be of servile and indentured to foreign powers and build things- ports, factories, roads, rails, buildings, etc. while taking away the liberty and property of majority populace forcefully as seen everyday now for “Development”.

“The end of the monsoon season has seen the Burma Army repairing supply roads to their bases in Karen State. This has caused Karen army officers to question the strategy behind the rebuilding of the supply roads when the government is supposed to be withdrawing its troops from the region.
The Burma Army began repairing the transportation road into Thandaung Township, Karen State at the beginning of November.
A Karen National Union officer in its Brigade 2 confirmed with Karen News that the Burma Army’s Infantry Battalion 1, 5, and 35 and Light Infantry Battalion 108 have increased their presence in the region.
“LIB 108 is responsible for the road’s security while the other three Battalions are repairing the road. This is not a sign of (a ceasefire agreed) retreat. They are sending their rations as they did previously.”
The KNU Brigade 2 officer told Karen News that the Burma Army is resupplying instead of preparing for retreat as in the ceasefire agreement between KNU and the government.
The repaired road is 96 kilometers long, and the section between Taungoo-Bawgali-Maungtaikyi is complete.
Local villagers in the region said the Burma Army based in KNU controlled areas in Nyaunglebin and Papun are also repairing supply roads.
The Karen officers question the strategy behind the rebuilding of the supply roads when the government is supposed to be withdrawing troops.”

Also highlights the dilemma faced by the long and , dare say, glorious tradition of KNU with current sudden, immense and blinding offers of opulent business deals and fake power status and small individual fiefdoms for the few leaders on one hand and betrayal of the memory of the likes of Bo Mya and Padho Mann Shar. Being in bed with the killers surely does stink. Or even sitting face to face with grinning liars.

But again, NO one can resist money and power. Most human will sell their mothers for those.

Talk about a ‘pea brain’ attempt to justify 3 decades of useless careless policy or worst brilliant and obviously successful means to white wash the West iniquities, with present Kayin vs Bamar and similar conflicts.

A far cry compared to yesteryear accusations of “Genocide” “ethnic cleansing” and “Dafur”.

Hmm

A last whimper by the West, westerners and its Man Fridays?

When it was fashionable to equate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with the fate of ‘Myanmar Citizenry’, useless careless policy was the toast of every Westerners’ events despite the well documented untoward results, ALL against the citizenry.

Now it is equating “ALL the activities of Tamadaw” as being endorsed by the Myanmar Citizenry as Myanmar/BAmar chauvinism.